downtown detroit

Recently, Suzette Hackney of POLITICO wrote an article that asked the question, “Is There Room for Black People in the New Detroit?” Her account begins at the corner of Agnes and Parker at a local restaurant where she describes seeing “designer dogs” and “tattooed millennials."

From her piece:

The whole scene was a far cry from when I lived in the adjoining apartment building in the early 2000s... but this is the new Detroit.

I live in the neighborhood she describes, and even though Craft Work could be considered a “hip” establishment, I'm a little sad the area she described was reduced to a gentrified stereotype.

There seem to be two types of stories emerging from Detroit these days: one bleak and one optimistic.

Both can be spun wildly out of proportion, but the two – seemingly contradictory – narratives paint the same city in a very different light.

Detroit’s bankruptcy has garnered attention from around the world – from the U.K. to India. The bankruptcy, the underperforming school system, the lack of public services, the high crime, the dysfunctional local governments: they all contribute to the bleak narrative.

At the same time, there have been a number of reports that have highlighted a more optimistic narrative in the city.

A recent boom in population and economic activity in Midtown and downtown has completely changed those areas of the city over the last several years.

The Detroit Red Wings could have a new home if Mike Ilitch’s Olympia Development Company gets its way.

Officials from the company spoke to state lawmakers today, outlining a new $650 million complex in Downtown Detroit featuring shopping, apartments, offices and entertainment -- and a new home for the Red Wings.